Great to hear the series is still ongoing though! Maybe we will get a new translation started by Christmas!!!

@dennisambler

The English Wikipedia article indicate volume 17 was released on September 25, 2025.

I also believe that author's can self-publish ebooks on Amazon. I would assume other digital distributors might have similar options.

@GeorgeMTO Oh, I see. Thanks for letting me know! 👍

I updated the roster to add Hashimoto from the Manga V2 C13.

Also, I only even found that because I was learning a new AI tool (antigravity) and coded up a website for this.

https://landmines.daerma.com/roster

It is on github if anyone wants to contribute.
https://github.com/sorvani/tanwlm

I'm still tinkering with the character builder section.

Normally it takes about 3-4 months for a new volume to be completed. It's been almost 3 months and the preview for volume 31 hasnt even started

@Ekun based on the last time Hero Bunko released a volume in December, it might not prepub even in 2026, but yeah still nice to see series people thought were dead continue publishing.

@jdmmis I agree that this would really be beneficial, just like updates on new additions to the Reading Library are.

@urstrulypwn that's already been answered here a few times.

@shiadra all the contest guaranteed them was the first book. Several of the authors have a v2 in some form of progress, but JNC haven't made any official comments about how continuations will be handled.

@BlueDragoon said in Pens Down, Swords Up:

To add my two cents to what @Serah said:

IMHO this series starts slow, and takes a little time to get to the good parts. But by the end of vol. 3 this has become my favorite series on JNC and I'm now reading ahead in the WN.

Once you get the introduction of the school and his new friends out of the way is where the series shines the most: as the protagonist begins his wandering journey out into the world casing chaos and misunderstandings everywhere he goes.

While vol. 1 was all about the entrance exam and school life, he starts adventuring in vol. 2, and by vol. 3 all the school stuff gets pushed into the background.

If anyone out there thought the school parts weren't very interesting, then I encourage you to stick around and try vol. 2.

Exactly!

That is also why the story description on the official page feels so misleading, as it sounds like it is all about a nerd excelling in school. (sure that might be interesting at first too)

Instead it is about adventure, action, finding his way through life - it sure has strong hints of Re:Life - where the protagonist goes the way he chooses (the way of freedom) because he was regretting his past life where the studies, railroaded his lifepath.

By all means it is so much better than what I have expected from the description of the official page!

@SomeOldGuy Sweet, Thanks!

@lenovoaxioo that time period is too short to guarantee JNC doesn't have interest in it. Yes some things begin faster than that, but the time a new released volume in Japan takes to get a translation under JNC can depend upon numerous factors. Sometimes the JP publisher takes longer to respond than normal, sometimes the translator/editor need to wait for a break in their schedule (especially common after a longer gap between releases since many pick up other series in the meantime since they're freelancers). Sometimes a translator or editor doesn't want to return to the series, and then they need to hire a new one, and let them have some time familiarising themselves with the previously done volumes.

All in all, JNC have a very good track record for continuing to publish volumes for LN series they have licensed, I expect it will come it'll just be a little longer.

Given my having read this series three times through since it was last on catch up...yes, I enjoy it very much.

The author has done some things that I'm pretty sure became a headache for those doing the translation, the most "fun" of which, in my perspective, would be handling how those from Sym interact with others.
They're, um, reticent?
They conceal their emotions.
This is reflected in their non-expressive demeaner.
It also, I'm thinking, ties in with their speech.
The pauses, indicated by a comma practically every other word? (Which has to be a bother to the translation team, they aren't doing this for a lark.)
I don't think that's entirely unfamiliarity with the language of Selva. They may well be seeking out phrasing that conceals emotion on the fly. Making sure their word choice conceals their emotions while still conveying the desired information becomes more difficult in a language developed by folks who don't habitually conceal their emotions. Understanding what phrasings would reveal their emotions and which wouldn't, well, that's a tricky thing?
Compare it to grasping "noble speech" in Bookworm and the Dahliaverse.
They'd be more fluent if they dwelt entirely in Selva, but since they spend half the year in Sym and the other half trading in three foreign cultures, and pretty much keeping to themselves outside of trade negotiations...negotiations which can be handled by specified individuals.
And it isn't like they went to school to learn these languages. They pick them up as they travel.

The next major headache would be the foodstuffs.
Some might argue I've got these out of order in regard to which is the most bother for the translators...which may be the case.
Foodstuffs happen all the way through, dealing with those from Sym less so.
Anyway, keeping the terminology straight, keeping in mind the physical characteristics of everything?
They have to have a glossary they're referencing.

You could wait for the next contest to go live, and try submitting to that. They may announce one for entry in the second half of this year, but it's not confirmed they'll be holding a third one yet.

Here's the details about the one they're currently judging, which should have previews up for readers soon: https://j-novel.club/blog/jnc-original-light-novel-contest

There are a lot of details I enjoyed. Such as the stairwell being painted black so the flashlights don't show much, to the references to the building code, to the sidekicks enjoying the BL twist.